The Cold War

1945-1991
 After WWII
At the end of World War II,
America and the Soviet Soviet United
Union were the strongest Union States
countries left standing.
Stronge Democrati
The Soviet Union was a Communist st after c
communist country, where Ruled by Free
WWII
the government controlled dictator economy
the economy, and was ruled
by a brutal dictatorship.
The United States was a
democratic country with a
free economy.
 Friends or Not?
USA and Soviet
Union remained
friendsat first
But soon after
WWII The Soviets
began imposing
communism on
other countries.
 And so it begins
In 1947, U.S. President Harry
Truman announced that America
would help the countries of Greece
and Turkey fight attempts to turn
them into communist countries
and allies of the Soviet Union.
Viewed as the beginning of the
Cold War.
Even though the main struggle
was between the Soviet Union and
America, they never engaged in a
direct, all-out "hot war" from the
beginning until the end in 1991.
 Berlin Wall
1961 the communist East Germans and
their Soviet friends suddenly put up a
barrier, soon to be called the "Berlin Wall.
They wanted to stop people who were
running away to the free part of German.
The wall separated Berlin and the rest of
German into pro-Soviet and pro-American
sides
The communists used dogs, guns and
landmines to keep their people from
escaping.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-
JhwaRYOgxo ( Kid President)
 Berlin Wall: Think About It

The wall got so high that people had

to climb ladders to wave to their
family and friends on the other side.
What would you do
if you were on a
different side of the
wall from your
family and friends?
 Tear Down This Wall
In June 1987, President Ronald Reagan visited
Berlin and issued a challenge to the Soviet
Union.
General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek
peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet
Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek
liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr.
Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev,
tear down this wall!
After the wall fell, the Soviet Union itself
followed soon after. It was officially dissolved
in December 1991, creating the Russian
Federation and, in effect, freeing most of the
various countries forced in the Soviet Union.
https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEa1FGdjTzw
(summary)
(Nuclear)Arms Race
An arms race indicates a rapid increase in the
quantity or quality of instruments of military
power by rival states in peacetime.
August 29, 1949: Soviet Union successfully tested
its first atomic bomb
1952 : United Statesdetonated the first hydrogen
bomb. This was an even more powerful version of
the nuclear bomb
1953: Soviets explode their first Hydrogen Bomb
As both sides continued to develop new and more
powerful weapons, the fear of what would happen
if war broke out spread throughout the world.
It is estimated that by 1961 there were enough
nuclear bombs built to destroy the world.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg9scNl9h4Q
Arms Race : Think About It
How would
you feel if you
were shown
that video in
school?
 Rosenberg's
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were
convicted of conspiring to steal
designs for America's atomic
bomb and delivering them to
Soviet secret agents. (1951)
The Rosenberg's were sentenced
to death row
Were offered a deal in which their
death sentences would be
commuted in return for an
admission of their guilt
Did not say they were guilty so
they were killed
Rosenbergs: Think About It?
Do you think the
Rosenbergs were
guilty? Why or why
not?
 Cuban Missile Crisis
In 1962, a super-fastAmerican U2
spy plane spotted Soviet nuclear
missiles in Cuba, a country close to
the State ofFlorida.
They put missiles in Cuba because
we had missiles in Turkey
President Kennedycalled a meeting
with his main security advisors.
He decided to put in place a Naval
Blockade
Eventually the two sides reached an
agreement. The Soviet Union would
remove the missiles from Cuba as
long as the United States agreed to
never invade Cuba again.
https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTqprgC
M784&nohtml5=False
(JFK)
 Cuban Missile Crisis: Think About it
Not everyone in the US was happy about the outcome.
General Curtis LeMay called it the worst defeat in US
history. Do you agree or disagree with him?
 Credits
http://www.ducksters.com/history/cold_war/summary.php
http://www.coldwar.me/coldwarforkids.html
Youtube.com